Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Buildings: Insulation

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of properties that have undergone heat insulation works in the West Midlands in each year since 2010.

Graham Stuart: The table below shows the number of insulation measures funded through Government schemes, installed in properties in the West Midlands since 2013. The Government schemes in scope here are the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD), and Green Homes Grant Vouchers (GHGV). Further information on these schemes are available here and here. Number of insulation measures[1]installed in West Midland funded through ECO, LAD and GHGV[2] ECOLADGHGVTotal201340,356N/AN/A40,356201462,154N/AN/A62,154201530,620N/AN/A30,620201618,809N/AN/A18,80920178,499N/AN/A8,49920189,639N/AN/A9,639201912,457N/AN/A12,457202017,323401917,382202115,7872744,95721,018 The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) were Government energy efficiency schemes that ran prior to 2013. More information on these schemes can be found hereand here.  [1] Insulation measures in scope are cavity wall, solid wall, loft, roof, floor, park home, and draught proofing. A property may receive more than one insulation measure.[2] LAD and GHGV started in 2020

Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape Review

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the independent review of the research, development and innovation landscape.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: In leading his independent Review of the Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape, Sir Paul Nurse has gathered input from members of the Review’s Scoping Group and Sounding Board, alongside hundreds of organisations in the UK’s RDI landscape. Work is underway to consider and finalise the Review’s recommendations, which will consider input from those group members, ahead of the Review’s publication in the coming months.

Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape Review

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the (a) Scoping Group and (b) Sounding Board to the review of the research, development and innovation landscape will approve the recommendations of the Review.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: In leading his independent Review of the Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape, Sir Paul Nurse has gathered input from members of the Review’s Scoping Group and Sounding Board, alongside hundreds of organisations in the UK’s RDI landscape. Work is underway to consider and finalise the Review’s recommendations, which will consider input from those group members, ahead of the Review’s publication in the coming months.

Housing: Energy

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes were upgraded to energy performance certificate band C in each year since 2010.

Graham Stuart: Estimates of the number of dwellings by EPC band are made for England in the English Housing Survey headline report annex table 2.8. The table below collates the time series requested: Estimated Number of Dwellings in England by Energy Efficiency Rating (Thousands) A-CD-GNumber of homes improved to Band A-C[1]20092,59519,740 20102,97119,57316720113,34819,40616720124,14118,57782920135,37317,88169620146,12517,24663520156,70016,84340320167,04916,68415920177,21416,736-5220188,29015,88385320199,85414,5601,323202010,85612,6781,881  Source: English Housing Survey  [1] The estimate of homes upgraded to band A-C from D-G has been derived by subtraction of the previous year’s estimate of D-G homes. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2020-to-2021-headline-report.It should be noted that it is difficult to make accurate year on year comparisons and there have been slight changes in the methodology used to derive EPC ratings over time. Overall, the number of dwellings in England is increasing and so the total increase in band A-C dwellings is higher than the number of D-Gs improved to band A-C due to new dwellings.

Natural Gas: Production

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has plans to strengthen the UK's energy security through an increase in domestic gas production.

Graham Stuart: The Government is accelerating all sources of domestic energy, including North Sea oil and gas production. Subject to the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint, The North Sea Transition Authority will be launching a new licensing round for North Sea oil and gas shortly, which is expected to lead to over 100 new licences being awarded. The Government will also end the pause on shale gas extraction. Having domestic sources of gas makes us less dependent on foreign imports.

Department of Health and Social Care

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she will take steps to promote the recruitment of dentists from overseas by the NHS.

Will Quince: There are no plans to promote the recruitment of dentists from overseas by the National Health Service.The Government is currently making changes to the General Dental Council’s (GDC) international registration legislation which will allow the GDC greater flexibility to improve its existing international registration process and introduce alternative routes to registration for international applicants whilst maintaining its focus on robust public protection. We are aiming to introduce these changes by the end of 2022, subject to the Parliamentary process and time.

Infectious Diseases: Health Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to improve care and support for people following sepsis and severe infection.

Will Quince: NHS England is working with NHS @Home to allow patients to recover from severe infection and sepsis at home, including in care homes. This includes ‘virtual wards’ which use remote monitoring, technology platforms and wearable devices such as pulse oximeters and through face-to-face community care where patients receive care from multidisciplinary teams.Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy services are also being established and tested in National Health Service trusts to support the ability to discharge patients home safely whilst receiving antibiotic therapy.

NHS: Dental Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the average units of dental activity delivered by each NHS dentist in each Parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: This information is not collected in the format requested.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will publish a timeline for the implementation of the recommendations made in the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the recent increase in fees to legal aid will be backdated to existing court cases to 30 September 2022.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of criminal barristers in England and Wales.

Gareth Johnson: On 15 March, we published our interim response to Sir Christopher Bellamy’s report together with a consultation on related policy proposals.On 20 July, the Government published its interim response and laid a statutory instrument to implement a 15% uplift to most fee schemes, which will come into force for new representation orders from 30 September 2022. Criminal legal aid practitioners will start to receive the pay increase from October 2022 onwards for their work on these cases. The increases we are implementing from 30 September 2022 are on top of the £74m we have invested in criminal legal aid over the last 4 years.

Legal Aid Scheme

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing legal aid fees for written work by 25 per cent.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the increase in legal aid fees to existing cases.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a pay review body to report annually on revision of legal aid fees.

Gareth Johnson: The criminal legal aid independent review recommended that funding for criminal legal aid should be increased overall for both solicitors and barristers as soon as possible to an annual level, in a steady state, of at least 15% above present levels.On 20 July, the Government published its interim response and laid a statutory instrument to implement a 15% uplift to most fee schemes, which will come into force for new representation orders from 30 September 2022. Criminal legal aid practitioners will start to receive the pay increase from October 2022 onwards for their work on these cases. The increases we are implementing from 30 September 2022 are on top of the £74m we have invested in criminal legal aid over the last 4 years.Following discussions with the Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association and the Law Society the MoJ have put forward a range of proposals, including funding for existing cases. These include:The introduction of a fee of 15% on AGFS and up to 15% on LGFS for existing cases where the main hearing takes place after the commencement of the Statutory Instrument that brings this new arrangement into force.In addition to this, there is the injection of an additional £4m over the Spending Review period via the provision of an additional brief fee or bolt-on fee to increase remuneration levels for advocates undertaking s28 hearings; An additional £3m of new funding for special and wasted preparation and as set out in the Government’s response to the Criminal Legal Aid.My officials are currently developing our detailed response to our consultation following the criminal legal aid independent review, which includes longer term reform of the fee schemes and how payment for written work is claimed so that they properly reflect the way legal professionals work today. We will outline next steps in our full response to the consultation, which we expect to publish later this year. This will also include our proposals to:Reform fee schemes so they properly reflect the way legal professionals work today.Invest in a diverse and sustainable profession.Create an Advisory Board, although CLAIR recommended that the Board should not be a pay review body.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israeli Settlements

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken regarding the Israeli Government’s E1 settlement proposal.

Gillian Keegan: The UK welcomes the decision to postpone discussions about advancing the E1 settlement plan. We will continue to monitor developments closely. The UK urges the Government of Israel to permanently end its settlement expansion and settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The former Minister for the Middle East raised our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll on 22 June. The UK continues to raise our opposition to settlement advancements at the UN Security Council.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he and his Department is taking steps to deliver a strategy for the reduction of Bovine TB in wildlife, including publishing details on (a) epidemiologically-led culling and (b) Government-funded badger vaccination.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is planning to take steps to deliver a strategy to eradicate Bovine TB from wildlife, including providing data on (a) epidemiologically-led culling and (b) Government-funded badger vaccination.

Scott Mann: Controlling bovine TB in wildlife, specifically badgers, makes up part of the package of measures of our bovine TB eradication strategy, with the aim of achieving Officially TB Free status for England by 2038[1]. As part of the next phase of the strategy HM Government will now evolve its approach and gradually move on from intensive badger culling over the next few years. Badger culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed. The proposal for epidemiologically led culling is currently under development. Details of HM Government funded badger vaccination, together with data on the number of badgers vaccinated, is published on GOV.UK[2][3][4][5]. _ [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-officially-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bovine-tb-controlling-the-risk-of-bovine-tb-from-badgers#badger-vaccination[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-summary-of-badger-control-monitoring-during-2019/summary-of-badger-vaccination-in-2019[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-summary-of-badger-control-monitoring-during-2020/summary-of-badger-vaccination-in-2020[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-summary-of-badger-control-monitoring-during-2021/summary-of-badger-vaccination-in-2020

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice his Department (a) has issued and (b) is planning to issue to minimise the risk of future outbreaks of avian flu in England this year; what other steps he is taking to minimise the risk of outbreaks in 2023; and if he will make a statement.

Scott Mann: Defra’s approach to avian influenza disease control is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain together with the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. We advise all bird keepers that high standards of biosecurity should be maintained as good practice for the health and welfare of their birds. Good biosecurity is an essential defence against diseases such as avian influenza and is key to limiting the spread of avian influenza in an outbreak. Biosecurity guidance and a biosecurity self-assessment checklist have been published by Defra to assist all bird keepers in instigating and maintaining the highest possible standards of biosecurity. Keepers must also comply with mandatory Avian Influenza Prevention Zone measures where they are in force, which together with further updates on the latest avian influenza situation, can be found via GOV.UK/Bird-flu. This year’s avian influenza outbreak has been the largest and longest ever on record in the United Kingdom and in many parts of Europe, with infections continuing beyond the normal winter period. We recognise industry and the wider bird keeping sectors concerns about how the outbreak may develop this coming winter. Our approach to tackling this year’s avian influenza outbreak continues to be led by international best practice and latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice. Avian influenza disease control and prevention measures are kept under regular review as part of the Government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza, and decisions regarding these measures are based on published risk assessments (www.gov.uk/government/publications/avian-influenza-bird-flu-in-europe). In addition, detailed epidemiological assessments are made at each poultry and captive bird infected premises to investigate possible source and spread, and inform any future potential disease prevention and control measures. Alongside HM Government’s continued investment in the National Reference Laboratory and the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Weybridge site, earlier this year we launched an eight-strong consortium that received £1.5 million in funding to develop new strategies to tackle avian influenza outbreaks. This research will help build our understanding in a number of key areas, including why the current virus strains have formed larger and longer outbreaks and understanding transmission and infection in different bird populations.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent outbreaks of avian flu.

Scott Mann: We advise all bird keepers that high standards of biosecurity should be maintained as good practice for the health and welfare of their birds, and that they must remain vigilant and report immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) any suspicion of avian influenza in their birds. Good biosecurity is an essential defence against diseases such as avian influenza and is key to limiting the spread of avian influenza in an outbreak. In light of evidence of escalating findings of avian influenza in wild birds and cases in poultry and other captive birds, an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) was declared on 31st August 2022 in Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly and part of Somerset and remains in force until further notice. In this area it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers (whether they had pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) to follow strict biosecurity measures to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease. Definitive requirements are set out in the regional AIPZ Declaration, and biosecurity guidance and a biosecurity self-assessment checklist have been published by Defra to assist all bird keepers in instigating and maintaining good biosecurity, including compliance with the mandatory AIPZ measures which, together with further updates on the latest avian influenza situation, can be found via GOV.UK/Bird-flu. The need for a national AIPZ or further regional AIPZs with or without mandatory housing measures will be kept under regular review as part of HM Government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza. Any decisions on when to reintroduce a national or further regional AIPZs will be based on risk assessments containing the latest scientific, ornithological evidence and veterinary advice. When avian influenza is confirmed in poultry or other captive birds, swift and humane culling of birds on infected premises coupled with good biosecurity is used to prevent the amplification of avian influenza and subsequent environmental contamination and to reduce the risk of disease spread from infected premises. In addition, disease control zones are put in place surrounding the infected premises. Within these zones the movement of birds and things associated with their keeping, e.g. poultry litter, are restricted to prevent the spread of disease. Disease control zones are only lifted when all disease control activities and surveillance within the zones are successfully completed. In addition, alongside HM Government’s continued investment in the National Reference Laboratory and APHA’s Weybridge site, earlier this year we launched an eight-strong consortium that received £1.5 million in funding to develop new strategies to tackle avian influenza outbreaks. This research will help build our understanding in a number of key areas, including why the current virus strains have formed larger and longer outbreaks and understanding transmission and infection in different bird populations.

Marine Environment: International Cooperation

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on working with other nations in the Global Ocean Alliance 30by30 initiative.

Scott Mann: Since 2019, the United Kingdom has led the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) of countries in support of ambitious ocean action within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the adoption of a target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (‘30by30’). The GOA now has over 70 country members who have pledged to support the adoption of the 30by30 ocean target at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the CBD in December this year. The United Kingdom also serves as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC), alongside Costa Rica and France, which champions 30by30 for both land and ocean. Between these two United Kingdom-led and complementary alliances, 120 countries now support 30by30 in the ocean. The ocean is essential for all life on Earth, yet has historically been underrepresented in the CBD. The GOA’s activities - which span meetings, co-hosting events and promoting joint initiatives - are therefore extremely important to raise the profile of ocean issues to ensure COP15 delivers the necessary outcomes for the protection, restoration and sustainable management of the ocean. For example, at the UN Ocean Conference in June 2022, the GOA and HAC supported the United Kingdom/Fiji-led side event “Driving Positive Ocean Action”, which saw the mobilisation of further ocean finance. As we approach COP15, the United Kingdom will continue working with Costa Rica and France, galvanising members of the HAC and GOA, to ensure these coalitions have the strongest possible impact as we call for this crucial target to be enshrined in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Badgers: Vaccination

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to develop a (a) strategy for and (b) cost-benefit analysis of the delivery of badger vaccinations funded by his Department.

Scott Mann: Controlling bovine TB in wildlife, specifically badgers, makes up part of the package of measures of our bovine TB eradication strategy, with the aim of achieving Officially TB Free status for England by 2038[1]. HM Government policy has enabled farmers and landowners to apply for licences to cull or to vaccinate badgers. However, to date badger vaccination has been across small, spatially fragmented areas. To help support a transition toward widespread badger vaccination and build industry confidence in it as an investable and effective disease management approach, HM Government is undertaking a number of initiatives in order to encourage badger vaccination uptake: HM Government-funded badger vaccination in several areas where four-year intensive badger culling has ended. We are continuing to bolster our capability to deploy even more badger vaccination in post-cull areas from 2023.We awarded funding for a five-year project in East Sussex to support the farming community to deliver vaccination over an area of 250km². The project is now in its second year. It will help to shape the delivery model for deploying other large-scale vaccination schemes.Cage-trapping and vaccination training courses continue to be streamlined to make them less time-consuming and more accessible. A 'Train the Trainer' scheme, which enables experienced cage-trappers and lay vaccinators to qualify as trainers and form their own local training hubs increases the training capacity to enable more people to be trained.In 2022, we launched a new simplified licence for vaccinating badgers, significantly reducing the administrative burden for those who are trained to undertake this activity. We have applied a subsidy to Badger BCG vaccine which reduced its cost to almost half. All these initiatives are designed to help, facilitate, and encourage more farmers, landowners, and independent groups to get involved and deploy badger vaccination schemes. A system to evaluate the effectiveness of badger vaccination, which would include a cost-benefit analysis, is under development._ [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-officially-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many payments were fraudulently charged to his Department’s budget using electronic purchasing cards in the financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22; and what the total value was of fraudulent payments (i) made and (ii) recovered in each of those years.

Mark Spencer: The following table sets out the value and volume of fraudulent transactions identified on the department’s procurement cards in each of the years shown. In every case the monies were recovered. Financial YearValue (£)Number of Transactions2019/20106232020/21002021/2237661

Food: Labelling

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Consultation on amending domestic food legislation in England, closed in March 2021, what progress his Department has made on examining labelling regulations, including mandatory labelling on food.

Mark Spencer: Following consultation, the Food (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2021 came into force on 17th June 2021. These regulations, which do not directly relate to labelling regulations but to food compositional matters, removed mutual recognition clauses for imports of certain products containing meat, bread and flour, fruit curds and mincemeat, and spreadable fats. A period of adjustment was also provided which ended on 1st October 2022. (In the case of the Products Containing Meat etc. Regulations, this period was provided initially until 12th December 2021 but was later extended until the same date.)HM Government is committed to optimising the information that is available to consumers, and the Government Food Strategy sets out work that we will be taking forward on consumer information and transparency. As part of this strategy, HM Government has committed to developing labelling policy in the areas of eco-standards, animal welfare, and country of origin.

Pet Travel Scheme: Disease Control

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that pets brought into Great Britain under the pet passport scheme do not carry (a) diseases and (b) parasites, including (i) tapeworm and (ii) tick species that are not native to the UK.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's rules on bringing pets into Great Britain, if he will make it his policy to require (a) a rabies blood test with a waiting time in line with the incubation period for that disease and (b) that (i) dogs and (ii) cats be treated for ticks prior to entry into the country.

Scott Mann: We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering the United Kingdom on approved routes under the Pet Travel rules and all commercial imports of pets undergo 100% documentary checks, and this includes checking animal health records. All pets entering Great Britain must be vaccinated against rabies, with a minimum 21 day wait period, and all dogs entering the United Kingdom must be treated for tapeworm no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (five days) before entry unless coming from tapeworm-free countries. Tick surveillance has shown that tick distribution and abundance is changing throughout the United Kingdom for many reasons, including habitat and climate change. Small numbers of localised infestations with non-native tick species have been reported in recent years. For these reasons, we strongly encourage pet owners to treat their pets to safeguard their animals against ticks and tick transmitted diseases when travelling. We remain aware of the concerns around non-endemic diseases and continue to monitor the disease situation carefully. Our future policy will be guided by risk assessment.

Pets: Cost of Living

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the increased costs facing families who own (a) dogs, (b) cats, and (c) other animals.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the rising costs of pet food.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he has discussed the rising costs associated with owning a pet with Ministers in the devolved nations of the UK.

Scott Mann: HM Government is actively considering the impact of rising bills on all aspects of people’s lives. Defra is in close contact with animal welfare organisations and devolved nations and meets them regularly to understand issues and trends that are affecting the sector. This includes the impact of rising bills, such as pet food, on families with dogs, cats and other animals. Sector groups are closely monitoring the current situation and identifying where more support will be needed. We welcome the support they are providing people during these difficult times.

Nature Conservation: Zoos

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the impact of zoos on support for conservation science.

Scott Mann: Zoos are required to carry out conservation work as part of their licensing conditions, and we are in the process of updating these. Defra has recently held a targeted consultation on a set of new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain. The draft standards propose a set of new conservation requirements that, subject to the approval by parliament of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, zoos licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 will be required to meet. The new conservation requirements are designed to ensure that all licensed zoos in Great Britain provide meaningful contributions to conservation. Defra and the Zoos Expert Committee are currently considering responses to the consultation, which closed on 21st June.

Home Office

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to approve applications to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

Tom Pursglove: We have received thousands of applications submitted to one of the fastest and largest visa programmes in UK history. Information on the number of visas granted under these schemes can be found on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Schemes: application data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.The Home Office and the commercial provider operating our Visa Application Centres have surged staff across Europe to meet demand and UKVI staff in the UK are working seven days a week to process applications.As part of the Home Office’s commitment to make it easier for applicants to apply to our schemes, since 15 March, Ukrainians with valid passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Training

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions the provision of mandatory training for his Departmental staff regarding their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 has been cited by his Department as a defence against Section 109 proceedings since the commencement of that Act.

Edward Argar: The information is not collected centrally by the Cabinet Office, and any retained records do not identify cases where Section 109 has been relied on. Nor do they readily identify whether mandatory training in relation to obligations under the Equality Act formed part of that defence or if it has ever been relied on.There are publicly available judgments from Cabinet Office Employment Tribunal, on the GOV.UK website, that can be located here.

Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he will publish a full list of former Ministers who resigned in July 2022 who (a) accepted, (b) rejected or (c) donated to charity their Ministerial severance pay.

Edward Argar: Individual departments are responsible for the payment of salaries and severance payments to current and former Ministers and, as such, the information you have requested is not held centrally. Departments are required to publish compensation payments paid to former Ministers as part of their Annual Report & Accounts.

Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Luke Pollard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any former Ministers in his Department accepted Ministerial severance pay after resigning in July 2022.

Edward Argar: No ministers in the Cabinet Office resigned from the Government in July 2022 and therefore no severance pay was issued.

Cabinet Office: Work Experience

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people aged eighteen or younger have undertaken work experience in his Department in the last 12 months; and what proportion of those young people were (a) girls and (b) boys from state schools.

Edward Argar: There have been no people aged eighteen or younger over the past twelve months who have undertaken work experience in the Cabinet Office.

Boris Johnson

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Ministerial Direction was issued in regards to the decision to award a contract to Peters and Peters in relation to the opinion published regarding the Committee of Privileges' inquiry into the Rt. hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Edward Argar: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to PQ 47506. Please see here https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-09-05/47506

Department for International Trade

Trade Promotion: India

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on funding British businesses to attend trade shows in India (a) in 2021 (b) to date in 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department (a) spent on and (b) plans to spend on funding British businesses to attend trade shows in India in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Fysh: All of the tradeshows in India that the Department for International Trade (DIT) had planned to support at the start of 2021 (January – March) via the old Tradeshow Access Programme were cancelled due to Covid. Tradeshows in India for the remainder of 2021 were also cancelled. We are however making support available to UK businesses for them to attend and exhibit at a number of events in India for the remainder of 2022/23, via the new UK Tradeshow Programme. DIT actively supports businesses in a variety of ways to seek export opportunities in India.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Forms: Personal Names

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to help ensure that online registration forms recognise the use of special characters in names, including apostrophes and hyphens.

Julia Lopez: It is for individual businesses to provide services that are functional for their clients. Any personal data they collect via online platforms must be processed in accordance with the data protection principles. They include requirements to make sure that any personal data held is accurate and up to date and to take reasonable steps to rectify any mistakes that are identified without delay.In relation to the public sector, the Cabinet Office requires all government departments to make sure central UK Government online services can be used by everyone. This is a requirement of the Service Standard, set and maintained by the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO). The CDDO assesses government services against this standard and the Cabinet Office provides additional guidance on fields which ask for names, stating that they should support all characters, including numbers and symbols.

Gambling: Addictions

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date the Gambling Commission advised her Department of its opinion that Public Health England’s cost estimates associated with harmful gambling were unreliable.

Damian Collins: DCMS officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues relating to gambling regulation and the evidence on gambling. The Commission has given the Department no formal advice or notification relating to the cost estimates in Public Health England’s evidence review on gambling related harm.Protecting people from gambling harms remains a priority for the government and the Gambling Commission, and we will be led by the best evidence to ensure the right protections are in place.